The final word: Flowers signed to play baseball at Kentucky in November and was granted his release from his letter of intent after deciding he wanted to play college football. He plans to be a dual-sport athlete. Flowers played football as a senior for the first time since junior high. He picked the Vols over Clemson and Kentucky.

Kurott Garland

The final word: Garland made 125 tackles as a senior, according to MaxPreps, including 12.5 sacks. Tennessee was his lone Power 5 offer. He chose the Vols over Tulane. He’s teammates with wide receiver Jordan Young, who flipped from Tennessee to Florida State on Wednesday. He can play on the edge or on the interior.

Defensive tackle Emmit Gooden, who played at Independence (Kan.) CC and Brownsville High School in Haywood, is a 2018 Tennessee football signee.

The final word: Gooden was committed to Tennessee for about 10 weeks in 2014, while at Haywood High School in Brownsville. He decommitted, later committed to Mississippi State and wound up requiring a junior college detour. Gooden racked up 81 tackles as a sophomore at Independence. Tennessee must replace both of its starting defensive tackles, and Gooden is the fourth tackle to join the signing class. He picked UT over West Virginia, Arkansas and Arizona State.

John Mincey, a defensive end from Clinch County High School in Homerville, Ga., is a 2018 Tennessee football signee.

The final word: Tennessee beat out South Carolina at the finish line for Mincey, who decommitted from Arkansas last month. Mincey helped his high school win the Class A public school championship in 2017. He’s comfortable lining up in a stand-up position or with his hand in the dirt and proved a disruptive force at the line of scrimmage for Clinch County.

Colquitt County (Ga.) linebacker J.J. Peterson is a 2018 Tennessee football signee.

The final word: Peterson is the highest-rated player in this signing class by the 247Sports composite and a top-50 prospect. He was selected to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. The Vols held off Alabama for Peterson, whose size and speed make him a candidate to play early. Peterson had 121 tackles as a senior, according to MaxPreps, including 20 tackles for loss.

Cedric Tillman, a wide receiver from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, is a 2018 Tennessee football signee.

The final word: Tillman picked up an offer last weekend after it became apparent that another wide receiver who was committed to Tennessee, Jordan Young, might flip to Florida State. Tillman chose the Vols over Hawaii and UNLV. Tillman caught 37 passes for 774 yards and seven touchdowns, according to MaxPreps.